Inuyasha's POV:

"And you do not want to get involved?"

"That's not it. I just have…had a bad feeling. I thought it was too weird that you guys hadn't come back yet and then suddenly this brat appeared out of nowhere. I thought maybe…well whatever, it's doesn't matter now."

The dark-haired monk nods his understanding. He is aware of how hypervigilant his hanyou friend can be and always appreciates when Inuyasha chooses to be thoughtful rather than brash. "I see. Well like I said, the villagers wanted to thank us for the exorcism not only with money but with a free stay at their inn. Free food, drinks, and…" Inuyasha raises an eyebrow when his voice drops down to a whisper. "A night away from Sango sounded too good to pass up."

"You're hopeless."

"Haha! I adore my wife but, she is a bit scary right now."

"Keh."

"But in all seriousness, if you do not feel comfortable, I can travel there with you. The boy said that their territory is in the mountains beyond Ryukotsusei's valley?"

"Are you an idiot? Sango is going to give birth any day now. She'd kill me if you weren't here for it. You weren't even supposed to leave this last time." 'And I wouldn't purposefully bring you into a fishy situation like this. I have no idea what these dragons are up to.' "I can handle these panthers on my own. Me and Sesshomaru already took care of the four leaders awhile ago and they were the most problematic. These guys attacking them are most likely just some random coupe."

"Fair enough."

He gives a tired sigh as he secures tessaiga to his waist. 'Still, the sooner I take care of this, the better.'

"You could always decline his request." He suggests as they exit Kaede's home. "We made plenty of money on the last job, so we should be fine for a while."

"Nah, I'm sure Sango would give me grief for it." 'Not to mention, that kid seemed pretty damn adamant about needing help.'

"Hmm, you're not wrong there."

'Speak of the devil.' As soon as they walk outside, they find the mystery boy waiting anxiously with Sango and Rin at his side. "Well?" The long-haired woman all but demands.

"Do not worry Sango. Inuyasha has agreed to accompany Tatsuya-kun."

"Excellent!"

"Che."

"T-T-Thank you Inuyasha-sama."

"Cut it out." The kid was getting ready to bow again, but Inuyasha stops him with a sharp shake of his head. "Enough of that. Let's just get this over with." Without bothering to wait, he starts in the direction of the forest. He hears Sango tut and implore the young dragon to report back to her if the hanyou is 'mean' to him.

Rin shouts, "Good luck!" and soon after he hears the pitter-patter of the boy running to catch up to him. Like before he can smell and sense the unbridled dread coming from him. The stench only grows stronger the further they walk away from the village and become more isolated. Inuyasha closes his eyes in a long, tired huff and folds his arms into his sleeve. 'This is going to be a long day.'

….

"Hey kid, how much longer?"

"O-Oh um, n-not too much longer now."

They set out in the morning and now the sky is a deep orange as the sun sets in the distance. They have been travelling all day, the silence only being broken when the dragon whelp needed to give the daihanyou directions. They trekked through the Valley of Ryukotsusei quite some time ago and now they are nearing a small collection of tall mountains. "The panthers scale these mountains just to attack you guys?"

"N-Not all the time. Mostly they coordinate with the Birds of Prey."

'Huh?' When he makes an abrupt turn to face him, the boy staggers back and nearly loses his balance. "You never mentioned the Birds of Prey."

"I-I didn't?" His eyes widen to the point that they look like they are going to roll right out of his head. Inuyasha can feel the sharp spike of fear in him, so he tries to soften his stern expression into something more neutral. "P-Please f-forgive me for my uselessness. Inuyasha-sama I-I, y-you uh I—uh I am s-so sorry!"

"Cool it kid! I'm not angry and its not a problem. I haven't changed my mind about helping, alright?"

He still appears very unsure and is hugging himself as if he expects the older male to suddenly attack him. Nonetheless, he nods his head to show he understands.

He has been trying to bite his tongue and ignore it, but he just has to ask, "Why are you so jumpy all the time?"

The whelp falters and looks confused as to why anyone would ask him anything about himself. "I…I've always been this way sir…" 'He is obviously lying but whatever.' "I am…weary of anyone with g-great power." 'Now that may hold some truth.'

"Just because I am strong doesn't mean I'm going to hurt you."

"…"

"In fact, I'm not going to hurt you, so stop acting so wound up."

"Y-Yes…sir." Clearly, his words did not ease all his fears nor did Inuyasha expect them to, but at least some of the tension has left his shoulders.

"Good. Let's go." It does not take them too long to climb up the tallest mountain. Although physically the whelp does not look like much, it is apparent he is in his element on the rocky high-altitude terrain. He proves to be expertly nimble and scrambles his way up with quick agile jumps. With him leading the way, they manage to near the peak right as the sun sets. They are almost up in the clouds, and if they did go all the way up to the peak they certainly would be. The icy air is thin, and he can feel his lungs working double time to suck it in. He imagines that a regular mortal would have a hard time in these circumstances and would not last long. On the way up, Inuyasha noticed a handful of red, yellow, and green eyes watching them from the darkness of various alcoves. No one came out to meet them. Tatsuya informed him that they are all of what remains of the Nihon no Ryu. Since the attacks began, the youkai are reluctant to leave their roosts, especially now since all their eggs have been taken.

The pair stop climbing once they reach the highest opening, right before the peak of the mountain. As soon as they step foot into the space, Tatsuya drops to his knees, practically smashing his face against the ground—much like the time he first met the hanyou. His minuscule body exudes pure terror. It is much worse than anything he experienced while traveling with him which causes Inuyasha to cast a curious glance his way. Before he can question him, an involuntary chill runs up his spine as a swell of ominous aura encompasses them.

Looking back up to the shadowy opening to the cave, he finds ruby red eyes with black vertical reptilian pupils staring right back at him. The figure steps out of the shadows, revealing a humanoid youkai standing a full head taller than him. In contrast to his vibrant eyes, the pale moonlight reveals ivory skin dotted with dark green—almost black scales on his sharp cheekbones. His bone-straight midnight green hair is slicked back from his elegant features and cascades down past his waist. Unlike Tatsuya, his impressive ivory dragon horns start at his temples and grow thickly until they curve behind his head. If he used those to attack, his enemy would no doubt be severely wounded. The man notices him staring and his face suddenly breaks into a wide grin revealing way too many teeth. That combined with his relatively human appearance is unsettling in a sinister way. Inuyasha sizes him up as he approaches the cliff's edge where they are standing.

The man fits the bill of a typical daiyoukai. He wears the kimono of a noble which in his case is black with red and golds accents on the sleeves and a star crest on the front. His armor and obi also bear the tell-tale signs of the elite. Inuyasha's focus is primarily drawn to the bulky leather scabbard secured to his hip. "Assuming Tatsuya was successful, you must be Inuyasha-san?"

"Yeah…Khuzaimah, right?"

His smile fades for a moment, perhaps not used to being addressed so informally. "Yes, I am Lord Khuzaimah and you have my eternal gratitude for your assistance in this matter." He walks up to the shorter male and gives his shoulder a welcoming clasp. A gesture Inuyasha callously shrugs off.

"Don't thank me. I haven't done anything yet. I want to know the full scope of the situation. This brat made it seem like you guys are constantly in danger, but I sensed no threats on our way up here. And first he told me it was panthers, then he lets loose that the Birds of Prey are in this too. I want to know exactly what's going on before I commit to helping you."

"I see." His gaze turns stone cold as he considers the child who has not uttered a word since they arrived. "I should have known. His incompetence knows no bounds. It is perfectly reasonable for you to have your uncertainties. I will explain everything properly, but first—Tatsuya!" Up until now the demon's voice was velvety smooth and soft, like a snake. But when he calls the boy, it comes out in a raspy bark.

The boy does not look up in the slightest and remains in his fetal-like bow. "H-How m-m-may I s-serve you, heika?"

"I will deal with you later. Now make yourself scarce."

"Y-Yes master! Thank you, m-master!"

Inuyasha watches as he springs up, runs to the edge, and quite literally throws himself off the side without any hesitation. "Eh? He can fly?"

"No, but he could learn if he were not so inept. For now, he can glide well enough."

"Mm."

"Now onto more pressing matters. Inuyasha-san, how much has he relayed to you already?"

"He told me some youkais from the panther tribe have been waging attacks against you and your pride. According to him, it is getting out of hand and your people are being picked off one by one. He mentioned the Birds of Prey on the way here, so I do not know how they play into this. I sensed nothing coming up here. What kind of help do you need from me?"

"Hm, to put it simply, we have been overwhelmed. Of my pride, I am the only substantial fighter. Normally, this would not be a problem, but the combined forces of the birds and panthers have proved to be a real nuisance."

"Since when did the panthers join forces with the birds? I thought they were at odds with each other as well."

"They didn't and they are. The birds have their own roosts in some nearby mountains. While we have never particularly gotten along, they know they cannot seriously challenge the likes of me. However, with the panthers attacking from the bottom of the mountain—"

"They use that opportunity to pick off the defenseless people left up top."

"Precisely." Inuyasha watches him carefully as he walks around him to stand at the cliff's edge. He looks out into the purple-blue sky with his hand clasped behind his back. He looks deep in thought and it takes him a pause to start talking again. "Us dragons…we are supposed to be strong and prideful, something I take great honor in upholding, nevertheless…too many have suffered because of my hubris. I have watched mothers mourn the loss of their eggs and so many young fledglings carried off, kicking and screaming. My clan was already small to begin with, mostly women and children and now there is hardly anyone left. I am…ashamed to admit that it has taken the near total decimation of my clan to seek aid. As much as it pains me to ask, Inuyasha-san…" Crimson meets gold when he turns around to face him. "Would you honor this lord by lending your assistance?"

"…Fine…"

….

Inuyasha did not sleep a wink last night, despite the countless offers from his gracious host to set him up in an empty cavern next to his own. Even if he wanted to, there is no way the daihanyou could have slept in an unfamiliar place, filled with strangers, and with an imminent threat on the horizon. Khuzaimah explained that it is very likely the panthers and birds will attack at the first light of dawn. Naturally, Inuyasha spent the whole night standing and waiting at the cliff's edge. Throughout the eerily quiet night, he saw no signs of the other ryu-youkai or the child he travelled with, but he could sense them moving furtively from cave to cave below. The dragon lord himself remained deep in his own grotto for a while before flying up to the peak to keep proper watch. Inuyasha can recall when the ryu sprouted those majestic black scaled wings from his back. He was momentarily stunned. His full wing span is nearly double the hanyou's height and when he pushed off the earth, the power behind those large wings nearly knocked him over.

But that was hours ago. Right now, he is watching the sky slowly morph from blue to orange as the sun begins its' morning rise. Whenever he gets a rare moment to himself now-a-days, his mind takes him to places he would rather not visit. And this time is no different. For the first time in his life, he belongs. He is a part of a community. Miroku, Shippo, Sango, Kaede, Rin, Kohaku, Kirara, and all the villagers; he considers them his family. It is all he has ever wanted. The reason he suffered as a child and the reason he wanted the shikon no tama is because…he simply wanted to belong. And now he does but… he is missing what became the most important piece of his life, Kagome.

If she never vanished, then it is very likely she would be standing here next to him. They would have probably argued because he would have insisted she stayed in the village for her own safety. Hell, he may have even left her behind but somehow, she would have made her way to his side. Maybe she would have caught a ride on Shippo or Kirara and tracked him down. She would have ridden her bike contraption all the way up here if she had to. 'Heh. Stupid stubborn girl.' After all they have been through, it really does feel strange not to have her by his side. Even for something trivial like this. 'I wonder how she's doing…Is she safe?' He hopes the only thing she has to worry about conquering without him are those 'exam' things. 'That and…figuring out how to come back…Would she choose us—me over the family in her time?'

Before he can dwell on the possibilities of that question, a gust of wind spirals around him followed by a soft but solid thud. The dragon lord joins him at the ridge and offers a cordial nod before jumping straight to business. "Those filthy cats are making their way up the base of this mountain as we speak. I flew around the perimeter of my territory and spotted the birds. They should be here soon enough as well."

"What's the plan of attack then?"

"I want you to intercept those vile fools before they climb high enough to attack the lower nests. I am going to engage the birds in sky battle, so they do not pick off anymore of us. With our combined efforts, no one should be left vulnerable. I take it you are capable of handling the panthers on your own?"

Inuyasha's eyes narrow into annoyed slits and he turns his back to him with a scoff. "Don't be stupid." His hand flies to tessaiga's hilt as he jumps off the ridge. The rusty old sword transforms into his father's legendary fang as he hops from ledge to ledge. His clawed feet dig into the side of the rocky mountain as he skates to the bottom. His nose wrinkles with the strong smell of feline and soon after he spots the small band scaling up like Khuzaimah stated. 'Looks to be seven or eight of them with twelve actual panthers. I knew it had to be a solo acting coupe and nothing more.' The entire group stops in their tracks when Inuyasha comes plummeting down from above and lands in front of them. "Sorry to tell yah', but your climb ends here."

A cat-like woman with fiery red hair breaks away from the pack with fangs and claws bared, twin tails twitching in agitation behind her. "What does a half-breed dog want with us?!"

"Nothing, If you know what's good for yah'. Leave now and you'll be saving yourselves a whole lot of grief."

Her menacing hiss would have been intimidating to any lesser enemy, but in this case he can only grin in anticipation. It has been sometime since he has seen any action. The little threats that plague the village are not even enough for him to break a sweat. The woman, presumably the leader, sends her animal companions first which he all but obliterates with practiced tenkotsu swings. The demons look stunned and surround him with clear apprehension. They try to coordinate tactical moves relying on nimbleness to overwhelm him, but as ungraceful as the hanyou is he proves to be just as agile as any feline. He has no intention of killing any of them, so he bides his time by dodging and mostly striking with the back of his sword. Within minutes four of the eight panthers are too injured to fight. The leader lets out a shrill scream of frustration when the others turn tail towards the forest, dragging their injured brethren with them. "You insolent little half-breed! You know not what you do!" She is all spit and fire, but he can see past the bravado. The resolve in her eyes has died. She has lost the will and the fight. They both know it.

Inuyasha relaxes his stance and sheathes his sword as she continues to hiss and scream profanities. He does not feel the least bit in danger. "All I know is yer' done attacking these folks. They have endeared enough because of you. Get out of here and leave these ryu alone."

"Leave them alone!? I didn't ask for any of this! I didn't want to be used! I will never forgive that bastard for what he did to me! You are either a naïve fool or just as guilty and vile as he is."

'Huh?' "What do you mean?"

"No, I'll let you learn the hard way! You'll meet your end messing with the likes of Khuzaimah."

"And I'll bring you yours if you keep testing me."

"Tch!" Her orange eyes burn with hatred, but she turns away and flees into the forest outskirts with the rest of her band. He waits for a few more beats to make sure she is gone before jumping his way back up to Khuzaimah's lair. When he returns to the ledge, he finds the area littered with the torn carcasses of the Birds of Prey. There are dozens of them and almost on cue, one more falls out of the clouds to join the makeshift graveyard. This one looks particularly large and fearsome. 'Must be the head of the clan. Looks exactly like the one Koga's pack had to take out.' He tilts his head up in time to see Khuzaimah soaring towards the earth like an arrow. His speed slows at the very last second and he lands gracefully, retracting his wings into his back. Not a single jade colored hair looks out of place. There is no blood on him despite how mutilated the bodies are and it looks like the sword at his waist went completely untouched. His face is a mask of cold indifference until his blood-red gaze settles on him. He is all smiles as he approaches him. "Inuyasha-san. I take it you had no issues taking care of those noisy pests?"

"Of course not."

"I assumed as much. As annoying as they were, they were nothing but a bunch of weaklings."

"Were? They ain't dead."

"Oh?" He sounds slightly astounded. "Did they escape?"

"No. I let them go. After a defeat like that, you don't have to worry about them coming back."

"I see…interesting. Cannot say that is how I would have chosen to handle things, but nevertheless it has been handled."

"Hmph." 'Even with being the only fighter in his clan, it looks like he could have easily taken care of both enemies on his own…Well he did say he was worried about one attacking the defenseless while he's engaged with the other.'

"Now," Inuyasha watches as he nears him with a warm little smile. "How can I thank you for your generous service?"

"I don't need any thanks. If we're done here, I'm heading back to—"

"Please wait," His body tenses defensively when the dragon closes what little space was between them to place a hand on his shoulder. "There must be something I can do to express my gratitude."

"I don't need anything from you."

The grip on his shoulder tightens into a friendly squeeze, causing Inuyasha to frown and shake him off completely. Instead of being offended, his smile widens. "My honor demands I repay your kindness. At the very least allow me to have a great feast prepared for you. Would you allow this humble lord the pleasure of doing that much?"

"…" 'How annoying. Honor this and pride that. Oh, look how elite I am. Nobles are all the same. Demon or mortal. Makes me sick. But I am pretty hungry.' "Che. Fine."

"Excellent." 'That smile is so creepy.'

"But I'm leaving before sun down." He adds as they move into the dairyu's spacious den. He wants to be back in Kaede's village as soon as possible.

"But of course."

…..

Sometime later, Inuyasha is sitting comfortably in front of a spread of foreign delicacies. Fancy foods are far beyond his rudimentary palate. He idly wonders when and how Khuzaimah was able to accumulate all of this when he has been holed up in these mountains. Not only that but the alcove is decorated with all kinds of expensive looking silks, cushions, and trinkets. All of it looks typical of what he would expect from a human lord's residence which raises even more questions. His attention snaps to Tatsuya who scurries by to fill their cups while taking care to avoid making eye contact with either men. He is the one who set up the huge banquet in the first place and it looks like he is walking on eggshells. As soon as everything is perfectly in order, he steps off to the right side of his lord and crouches down into his infamously low bow.

"Please Inuyasha-san, do not wait on my account. And If you need anything at all, do not hesitate to call on Tatsuya. He may not be good for much, but at the very least he can obey simple commands."

"Mmm." Although he is not very comfortable, he wastes no time in shoveling down dish after dish. As pretentious as this setting is, he is not going to turn up his nose to semi-decent food.

"Tell me Inuyasha-san; where exactly do you reside?"

"Why do you want to know?" He fires back, voice full of suspicion.

"Ah, I am only asking because I sent Tatsuya to find you days ago and it took him a fairly long time to fulfill that uncomplicated task."

"Mm?" The lord meets his questioning look with a placating smirk.

"I am trying to decide on an appropriate punishment for his incompetence."

He looks to the boy in question to find him quaking in absolute terror. Although he cannot see his scarred face, he knows those expressive jade eyes are probably wide with dread. "I'm a little over half a day away," He answers around a mouthful of food. "And I don't like to be bothered. Me and my pack like to keep to ourselves, so it is no wonder he had a hard time. Unless you already know me, I'm not easily found and that isn't a coincidence. Don't punish him over something so stupid."

"Hm." He considers the whelp with a cool stare before giving a nonchalant shrug. "…Leave us boy." The kid nearly trips over himself in his hurry to remove himself from the presence of such intimidating youkai. Inuyasha watches him run out into the night and throw himself off the mountain face. 'There is something odd about that brat…and the way Khuzaimah treats him.' "Try the sake Inuyasha-san. It has been aged to perfection."

His golden eyes regard the small saucer the ryu tries to hand him. The smell of it is strong enough to wrinkle his nose and make his eyes water. He ignores it in favor for the jug a water which he chugs down before letting out a loud belch. "Nah, I don't drink."

If the noble is disgusted, he does a superb job of hiding it. "Shame. This sake is absolutely exquisite."

"Yeah well, I have to get going any…way…" 'What the hell?' All at once, the room starts spinning violently. A sharp pain stabs at his head and his hand tangles in his hair as he clutches at it. He tries to use tessaiga's sheath as leverage to stand, but he cannot muster any strength in his legs and ends up collapsing on his knees. His arms and legs feel weighed down by lead and are starting to go numb. He places a hand over his chest in an effort to still his frantic heart. He can feel and hear it hammering against his ribs. His breath is coming out in short pants and it feels like someone is sitting on top of his chest. He is suffocating.

"Inuyasha-san? Inuyasha-san, are you alright?" Khuzaimah's voice sounds like it is coming from somewhere else. Somewhere far away. Darkness creeps to the edge of his vision as the room continues to blur and spin. 'What...what's…why…' He can no longer hold himself up and his body hits the ground with a hard thump. He manages to turn his face and spots booted feet near him. Looking up he finds the blurry image of Khuzaimah leering down at him. 'Is he…smiling?'

"Don't worry you half-breed bitch. I will take excellent care of you from now on."